Scars
by Knut Case
Summary: "Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real." Mericcup. For Connor.


**Scars  
A Mericcup Oneshot**

**_"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real." _**  
**~ Cormac McCarthy ~**

xXx

Merida smiled, and adjusted the stance of her young son. He was a beautiful little boy, who had inherited his mother's stunning blue eyes and tangled hair, although he had also inherited his father's plain brown hair colour and adorable crooked teeth. If she were perfectly honest, at his birth she had been a little disappointed in his lack of fiery red hair, but she was past all of that now. He was like her in many other ways. He was only four, but Merida had received her first bow at that age, and felt it was right that the young prince received one too.

He had a determined expression on his round little face, a smudge of food at the corner of his mouth from dinner, and his little tongue poked out from between his small pink lips. Merida pushed his hair out of his eyes, and followed his line of sight to the round target only a few metres away.

'That's it…now release…' she instructed, and little Iver released the arrow. It made a dull thud as it struck the outer ring of the target. The boy's father chuckled, and removed it with a practiced hand.

'Nearly, son. Try again,' Hiccup called, encouragingly.

'Aim a little lower, dear,' Merida said to him, and Iver nodded in understanding.

'Wouldn't you prefer a dragon?' Hiccup called.

'No thank you papa. I'm not old enough for a dragon yet,' Iver replied, not taking his eyes off the target.

Hiccup stifled a laugh. His son never failed to amuse him.  
'Alright. Maybe next year then.'

Iver loosed another arrow, this time going under the target and embedding itself in the grass. His eyebrows met in frustration.

'Mama. I need help,' Iver said quietly, looking up at his mother. Merida nodded at him, and wrapped her arms around his tiny frame.

'Okay my dear. Now, we're going to move this hand a little lower… that's right, doesn't that feel better? Nice and steady… well done. Okay, now pull back the drawstring. A bit more… bit more… yes that's it. Now hold it for a moment…and… let go!'

The arrow sailed through the air, and… well. It hit _a _target. In fact, Merida would later tell Iver that hitting papa's leg was a very tricky thing to do, and while it wasn't wonderful, it was still a shot to be proud of, and that he just needed practice.

Hiccup dropped to the ground and cried out a few choice swears, ignoring that his young son was present. Iver dropped his bow in horror, and covered his mouth. Merida scooped up her son in a smooth, practiced movement and they ran to Hiccup, along with the few guards that had been supervising.

'…Papa?' Iver whispered, staring down in horror at the small red stain on Hiccup's pants.

'It's alright, buddy. I'm okay…' Hiccup said, standing up with the help of an attendant, who helped him hobble up to the castle.

'Will papa be okay? I didn't mean to shoot him, I really didn't!' Iver said quietly, resting his head under his mother's chin. Merida kissed his head gently.

'Of course he is. Come on, we'll go see him.'

Merida and Iver entered the room just as the medic was cleaning the cut. The arrowhead hadn't gone in too deep, but they had cut away at Hiccup's pant leg and snapped the shaft before removing it. Iver was allowed to sit on the other side of the bed and watch as the wound was cleaned and sewn up.

'Papa. Why do you have sores all over your leg?' Iver asked, gently touching the burn scars that Hiccup had received during his battle with the Green Death.

'Well, do you remember me telling you the story about the big dragon that tried to eat everybody?' Iver nodded his head. It was his favourite story. 'Well, when I fell… I got burned. And these are the scars.'

Iver pondered this for a moment. 'Papa? Will my arrow hole have a scar too?'

Hiccup laughed. 'No, Iver. It's only a little cut. It'll be gone in a few days, okay?'

'Oh, okay. Do scars hurt?' Iver asked, and Merida kissed him on the head.

'Scars don't hurt sweetheart. They're just there. But sometimes they have good stories. Like grandpa Fergus' leg.'

Iver touched the skin where his father's leg was scarred the worst, where the flesh turned to wood and metal.

'Does mama have scars?' he asked absentmindedly, still touching the fascinating marks.

'Only little ones. How about we let papa get some rest, and we'll put you to bed, hm?' Merida replied, and Iver nodded. He had never been fussy about bedtime.

'Goodnight papa. I'm sorry I shot you,' Iver said, scrambling over to hug his father.

'It's okay. Just keep practicing, and you'll get better every day. Goodnight,'

xXx

Merida tugged her white nightgown over her head, and gave a small yawn. Hiccup was already in their bed, waiting for her. She scooted in beside him, and snuggled into his side.

'Did Iver go down alright?' Hiccup asked, and Merida nodded.

'He was still a little worried about hurting you, but he was okay. He'll be right as rain tomorrow,' Merida said, kissing his jaw. Hiccup propped himself up on one elbow.

'Now, I've been meaning to ask you something…' the King asked, his voice very serious. Merida was momentarily taken aback.

'Okay…?'

'Our son doesn't want a dragon. Now, as the Dragon King, I find that this is a very large wound to my Viking pride…'

Merida laughed softly, and sat up a little.  
'And what would you like me to do about it, your Majesty?'

'Well. I want you to make me another one…' Hiccup said, his voice going soft. Merida leaned up and gently kissed him. Then she got her hands under the hem of his shirt and lifted it over his head. She went to kiss him again, but paused at the rough feeling under her fingertips.

The scars that extended across his torso, and up under his arms, marring the soft skin of his middle and dipping down below his waistline. He had been extremely fortunate in that his face and neck had been protected, but Hiccup loved to tell the story of how he lost a decent amount of hair.

'Hey…' Hiccup said, tearing her from her thoughts. 'I don't want to just be scars… okay?'

'You're not just scars,' Merida said, and she went back to tracing the patterns. 'But they make you. They're your story, Hiccup, and you shouldn't be ashamed of them. They just prove how brave and selfless my husband really is…'

Hiccup tilted her head and kissed her firmly.

'Now… about that child you wanted…'

xXx

**A/N:  
I have this headcanon that Hiccup got some serious burns in the battle with the green death, and this is something I really wanted to work into Chase the Wind, but I couldn't find somewhere to fit it in. So I tweaked it a little, added my own Mericcup baby and PRESTO!**

**Don't hate on me please~  
****xo Maury**


End file.
